Several types of screens for resisting the passage of flying insects through an architectural opening such as a door or a window opening into a dwelling are known.
One type of screen is a pleated screen apparatus. A pleated screen apparatus has a screen member that is folded in a way to form a plurality of pleats. The screen member can be interchanged between a folded condition in which the screen per se is open and a spread condition extending across and closing off the architectural opening in which the screen is closed.
The pleated screen apparatus may comprise an overhead frame member or head rail and a bottom frame member extending parallel to the overhead member spaced below the overhead member.
The apparatus also includes a stationary fixed side frame member extending between associated ends of the overhead and bottom frame member. The apparatus also includes a displaceable side frame member or handle that also extends between the overhead and bottom frame members. The displaceable side frame member is displaced towards and away from the stationary side member to respectively fold the pleated screen member to open the opening, or spread the pleat member to screen off the opening collectively defined by the members.
A feature of a pleated screen apparatus is that the bottom frame member is an articulated member comprising a plurality of links that are pivotally attached to each other, not unlike a belt chain. The articulating links extend along a bottom edge of the screen member when the screen is closed.
When the displaceable side frame member is displaced towards the stationary side frame member to fold the pleated screen member, the articulated bottom frame member is passed into the fixed side frame member where it is received and wherein the member extends parallel to the fixed side member. In order for the bottom frame member to be received within the stationary side member it has to turn through ninety degrees and then travel in an upward direction parallel to the stationary support of the screen apparatus.
Some challenges involved with pleated screen apparatuses include tautly supporting the pleat screen member in position. In particular it is useful to tautly hold the pleat screen member extending across the opening when it is in the spread condition. It is also useful to be able to evenly displace the pleat screen between the spread and folded positions to maintain the aesthetic appearance of the screen and also to maintain efficacy of the screen.
Pleat screen apparatuses have found application in openings of limited longitudinal length. With prior constructions of pleated screen apparatuses of which the applicant is aware, the span width which can be covered by the screen member is limited to the height of the screen opening. This is because the articulated bottom frame member is vertically received within the fixed side frame member. That is the bottom frame member must be capable of being longitudinally received within the fixed side frame member when it is in a linearly extended configuration. Therefore the length of the bottom frame member cannot be longer than the height of the stationary side member. Consequently pleated screen apparatuses have found application in windows where the window width and window height are comparable.
It would be useful if pleated screen apparatuses could be devised in which the width of the opening, i.e. the length of the bottom frame member was not limited to the height of the side frame member. This would open up a myriad of new potential applications for a pleated screen apparatus. For example pleated screen apparatuses could be used to cater for wide architectural openings such as wide door openings. Wide door openings are becoming particularly popular in modern architectural designs, particularly with the increased use of bi-fold doors. It is not unusual to have an opening of 3-6 m opening from the interior of a dwelling onto an outdoor living area.
Clearly therefore it would be advantageous if a pleated screen apparatus could be devised in which the width of the opening covered by the screen member was not effectively limited by the height of the opening and the width could be significantly wider than the height of the opening.